BIG SIS AT YOUR SERVICE

Ive been visiting (more like stalking) curlynikki for awhile and eons ago i came across this big sis initiative and i thought kudos to Nikki. Its been about three months since Ive visited this section of the forum and I'm surprised to c that alot of ladies still have no big sis, this means alot of questions are going unanswered. This bugs me as I am hoping and praying that we are right now in the middle of the natural hair revolution and there are women out there who are frustrated and may, dare I say it, return to the RELAXER
I am currently in the middle of my transition, 10 months, after having done TONS of research to make sure I made an informed decision, to help my friend who had recently done a BC, and to help pacify those around me who couldn't fathom why I would want to "cut my shiny, jet black, healthy relaxed hair and be nappy".
I would love to be of help to anyone needing it. Like I said I have done my research and I love researching so whatever I don't know rest assured I will research it and send it to u via email.
Thus far I am loving being natural and cannot wait to cut my relaxed ends when summer comes. Happy natural everyone

Well I am glad that I found this thread, and since you don't have any reply's I will.. I just started transitioning in August. My last CFC was 8/16.. right now I am so anxious to BC but I know it is not time. I did read some information that said that in the winter our hair gets really dry so maybe I won't BC until March and by then I would surely have some new growth. Can I ask a question, How do you know what products are really good for you hair?? I have been intrested in using all Natual products byblackonyx but I am not sure. hit me back and let me know because I am a lost sista!!!!

Well, sometimes you might be able to tell by the ingredients it contains. Certain ingredients are great for the hair certain oils etc. However, you might want to stay away from products laden with protein as you might be protein sensitive and you wont know until your hair becomes dry and brittle so be careful. There is a protein and moisture test, The Stretch Test that you can do to test whether your hair has the correct balance:

Take a shed strand of hair while you're in the shower (it's important that the hair is wet) and try to stretch it out. The hair should ideally stretch about 20% of it's length I think and then return to it's previous length. If it snaps without stretching, you need moisture. If it stretches, but doesn't return to it's original length, you need protein.

But for the most part you wont know if a product is good for you until you actually put it in your hair and see what it does. In fact it is recommended that you use the product for at least 3 weeks to see how it works with your styling and washing routine.

However if you are still in doubt put the ingredients list here but if its an all natural line I mean it will be hard to go wrong.

Also in regard to winter even transitioning hair will become dry, so I suggest a good moisturising and detangling conditioner (I love Herbal Essences Hello Hydration) leave-in (I usually leave some conditioner in) and a light oil (jojoba) to seal in the moisture. Also you'll need a good moisturiser for in between washes.

BTW wat is a CFC?

Hi KinkyCurlyCoily,

I don't have a big sis, do you have any room for another little sis?

I'm trying to be a long-term transitioner although I'm itching to BC! I have been transtioning now for 7 mos going into my 8. I love all the lovely coils I've been noticing I'm playing around with different styles that may work with my current two-texture hair. I finally got a good cleansing routing down and I'm hardly shedding - I'm ecstatic!! I believe I have type 3c hair but I'm not positive, my hair is very fine and requires a very delicate hand which I must say I sometimes forget about...

After the leave in-conditioner, I've been using a coconut-hibiscus flower oil or EVOO to seal, which works great but I'm not getting a lot of shine. What can you recommend for shine? I'm afraid to try raw shea because I believe that would be too heavy for my fine and very porous hair...

Pls advice, thanks!!
Belleaenca

First of all there's always room for more and I'm so happy your having so much succes with the hairstyles (I've never had such luck) I'm happy that your enjoying the textures and that your finally getting to really know your hair.

Now to answer your question:
First of all usually I don't use Shea on it's own I usually whip it with other oils to make it less thick and use it in extreme moderation listening to my hair needs. Also what my hair seems to love is jojoba oil. It's light but still has the sheen of oil. Also clean hair wil reflect light better. My newly washed hair with few products reflects light much better than dirty hair so keep it clean.

Lastly I wish to impress upon you the importance of being gentle with your hair. I learned the hard way when it was too late and I had to chop alot of it off to even it out. So even when you want to yank don't! But I digress, I hope this info helped and keep the questions coming

Thank you and yes, very helpful.
I am learning to be more careful and patient with my hair and I think it appreciates it a a great deal. I also spoke to a friend of mine yesterday who is transitioning as well and she explained that natural hair will not reflect light the way my old relaxed hair did. Which is, I think, what I was expecting. It's not to say that my natural hair is not shiny now, it is - it just isn't as shiny as it was before but I understand that it's because my natural tresses soak-up moisture a lot faster and not because I'm doing something wrong, which was my fear.

I've noticed that my hair responds very well to the coconut-hibiscus oil mix I mention in my earlier e-mail and also to EVOO, but I've been thinking about how to umph hydration comes winter. I will definitely try your suggestion. What about whipped shea? Do you always do your own mixture of whipped shea or have you tried any of the ones on the market, if so, what did you think of it and which would you recommend?

Thanks again!

P.s. Sorry about the grammar error in my initial e-mail, I was a bit sleepy when I drafted it. tee hee. Happy Sunday!

P.p.s. I will post a pict of my transtitioning hair on the 7 or 8 month transitioning forum as soon as possible

Don't worry bout the grammer lol.
But to answer your question I do mix my own shea. I've never bought any commercial brands as I can easily find the ingredients and do it myself. I try to keep it as simple as posssible when it comes to my hair trying to keep the pjism at bay and trying to find hair products that I can easily access and are CHEAP!! Alot of the "products" I use I have mixed up like the Shea, leave-ins and deep conditioners. Hope this helped

BTW can't wait to see your pics and it cant stress enough the importance of finding a good winter routine so if you need help give me a call

Yes, that's fantastic!
I've spent a ridiculous amount of $ in hair products lately only to realize throughout this process that even "organic" products are not necessarily right for me. I've been making my own mixes of the products I've bought esand that seems to be working pretty well.

I'm really interested in using more essential oils in my mix but I'm intimidated by them. Every time I go into a store, e.g. Wholefoods or traders, I immediately gravitate towards their essential oils with every intention to buy some but I inevitably walk out of the store empty-handed. LOL One of these days though...or as soon as I run out of products.

Thanks for all your advice! I'm sure I'll be back for more soon
I will definitely have question re the winter routine -- I have enough of a hard time figuring out a winter routine for my skin let alone my new hair.

Hello again Ms. KinkyCurlyCoily,

I recently happened upon your blog, love it!

I went about town today in search of some essential oils and raw shea and cocoa butter to try my hand at mixing and though I found some of the EO I was looking for I didn't fine any raw shea/cocoa butters

I noticed from your blog that you're in NYC, I am too . Today I stopped by Wholefoods, Trader's and even Fairway and all three stores had a rather sad-looking stock of essential oils...

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you and happy Sunday!

Angela

@belleaenca I'm sorry to dissapoint but I am not her, but I can understand why you'd be confused I've just googled her so I guess the honourable thing to do will be to change my username as she was using it first. Try sending her a message on her blog.

Yikes, I'm so sorry, meant no offense. I can't remember if I followed the connecting link through CN or naturallycurly.com. Her website ends with "...coilyme" and I thought you had added the "me" because maybe someone else had already taken yours.

Again, so sorry for the confusion!!

@00NaturallyBeautiful did you purchase any good online products

@ belleaenca hows the hair going did you find the products you were looking for and how is the winter treating you and your hair and as you've noticed I've changed my username to avoid the confusion

Hello,
I just did my BC today a 6:45. Although I am okay about it I have no curls in my hair. Whats going on here? My hair is taking forever to dry. I spent money on several products and none of them are working pleaseeee help me I have to go to work in the morning.

Many curlies experience this; their hair being dry after the BC and their curls comeing in later. On the site their is also a blog about scab hair check it out. Also try this technique in the video to see if you have any luck:
http://www.curlynikki.com/2010/02/twa-stylings-of-ni-kiya.html#comments
also there is a small chance that your curls may never come in as some curlies have 4b hair which does not have a curl pattern but who still have gorgeous hair that just needs to be styled differently.

@NaturallyChelsea -- I'm sorry, I feel really bad and guilty for you having to change your name...BUT your new name is really pretty

The hair is going...LOL The KCCMe that I had confused you for did make a suggestion, I checked out the store she recommended but the Shea I found there didn't smell very fresh, kind of ransic actually. I started googling raw shea and came across some websites that sell it at reasonable prices...of course upon closer inspection, I realize I may end up spending more on other stuff that I just have to HAVE! LOL can we say PJ in training?

Have you BC'd yet or are you still transitioning? The curls in your avatar are beatiful and long! I'm jealous but in a good way

Thank you belleaenca I actually prefer the name, it's more me. And I'm glad you're having luck finding the shea. I doubt you'll be disappointed after purchasing it. And gurl we are entitled to a lil sumsum every now and again so get your PJ on... just don't go broke .

Also, I'm still transitioning, unfortunately, I really want to BC but it's gonna get so darned cold. And I love the curls as well thank you and it's only fair if you send me a pic of yours

@naturallyChelsea, hi! I finally manage to take a pic of my curls I just e-mailed it to myself from my cell, do you know how to attached it to this e-mail chain?

Tomorrow I turn 8 full months without relaxer!!

Congrats on your 8monthaversary (it's a word)

to put a pic here:
~save the pic on your comp
~press the button above the text box that looks like a picture with a floppy disk in front of it
~browse and select the image
~press host it
~copy what appears in the second box
~paste it into the convo

~if you want the box to disappear press the button

~if you want to upload more simply press the button again
~press upload image
~and repeat the process

Relaxed:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

8 month transitioner to-date: [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

@NaturallyChelsea, I did, I did it!! Thank you for the tutorial!
I can't remember if I had apply any products to my hair at this point, if I did it was probably a bit KKNT, KCCC and sealed with hibiscus infused coconut oil; OR the Darcy's herbal spritz and sealed with the hibiscus infused coconut oil... As you can see the limp rag hanging on my shoulders is is the reaminder of my relaxed hair. Currently I'm trying to cut my ends every 2 months...my curls have a lot of shrinkage so I think I will definitely wait to BC.

Question, is natural to have more curl definition on part of your hair than other? In my current expierence, I've noticed that I don't get a lot of definition in the front without some help from products but i don't know if that'll always be the case. Thoughts?

belle your hair is gorgeous!!! Woah that is alot of growth for 8 months. Keep it up!!

This is perfectly normal. Many curlies have a variety of textures in their head like me. Your hair is like mine because the front of my hair is VERY loose whilst the back makes coils and waves. It just means we have to be more creative with our hairstyles.

Thank you!

Re curl pattern, whew, thanks for the heads up. LOL
What is your favorite go-to style your two-texture hair?
I've been experimenting but still feel most comfortable with the flexicurls...

I saw your winter challenge, I'm thinking about it but i do so luv wearing my hair out. LOL

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hey i dont mean to intrude on you guys convo but i have recently decided to go natural... ( like officially today lol) anddddd i need some supporttt!!!!

Welcome Kay and congratulations. I'm so happy you've decided to embark on this journey trust me it'll be very rewarding.
Anything you need clarified I'll b here and if you just need support I'm here as well.

P.S you are by no means intruding
P.S.S have you decided on your method for going natural i.e transitioning or doing the BC